Squeegee module

ABSTRACT

A squeegee module. The squeegee module of the present invention includes a rotary unit rotated in opposite directions, support rods mounted to the rotary unit on opposite sides of the center of the rotary unit, a squeegee holder connected to ends of the support rods, and a squeegee blade mounted to the squeegee holder, wherein the squeegee holder moves upwards and downwards in cooperation with rotation of the rotary unit, thus controlling the inclination angle of the squeegee blade.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2010-0082955, filed on Aug. 26, 2010, entitled “Squeegee Module”, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety into this application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a squeegee module.

2. Description of the Related Art

In recent years, developments in the electronic industry have been accompanied by stronger demands being placed on the multifunctionality and smallness of electronic elements used in electronic apparatuses. Due to the trend to multifunctionalize and miniaturize electronic elements, bump pitches, formed on integrated circuits (IC) or on substrates, are required to be ultrafine and diversified. In the related art, a variety of methods of forming bumps on the substrates are being developed and widely used. An example of the bump forming methods generally used in the related art is solder paste printing using metal masks.

However, solder paste printing using the metal masks is problematic in that it may not attain the required bump quality standards, such as the height and shape of the bumps having the fine pitches, when it is used for forming the fine pitch bumps. Thus, a variety of techniques that overcome the problems have been studied and filed as patent applications.

In the related art, a squeegee-type deposition method or a proflow-type deposition method have typically been used to deposit solder paste on a substrate. Particularly, the squeegee-type deposition method is convenient to use and can be highly productive, and thus is widely used.

However, the squeegee-type deposition method may form voids in the solder paste and may not maintain the solder paste in the desired shape while the solder paste is being rolled, thus causing problems in addition to the difficulty of realizing the fine pitch bumps.

Described in detail, in the printing process that uses the conventional squeegee-type deposition method, the squeegee module used in the method rolls the solder paste using a squeegee and, in the above state, the solder paste can be deposited through openings of the metal mask by the rolling force applied to the solder paste. When the squeegee is moved upwards after one stroke of printing is finished, the part of the solder paste that has been rolled by the squeegee may adhere to the surface of the squeegee owing to the viscosity thereof and droops, thus losing the desired rolled shape. In the above state, when the printing is restarted in a reverse direction, the squeegee module may not realize the desired printing quality due to the drooping solder paste.

Further, in the conventional squeegee-type deposition method, when the predetermined amount of printing has been finished after the solder paste has been charged, replenishing the solder paste is required. However, in the above state, the amount of the remaining solder paste is not sufficient, so that the solder paste may assume a poor shape different from the previous rolled shape, thus reducing the bump quality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the related art, and the present invention is intended to provide a squeegee module, in which the moving direction of the squeegee can be easily changed and the inclination angle of the squeegee can be easily controlled in relation to variations in the amount of solder paste, thus maintaining the desired rolled shape of the solder paste and continuously maintaining the viscosity of the solder paste for a lengthy period of time during solder paste printing.

In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a squeegee module, including: a rotary unit rotated in opposite directions; support rods mounted to the rotary unit on opposite sides of the center of the rotary unit; a squeegee holder connected to ends of the support rods; and a squeegee blade mounted to the squeegee holder, wherein the squeegee holder moves upwards and downwards in cooperation with the rotation of the rotary unit, thus controlling the inclination angle of the squeegee blade.

In an embodiment, the rotary unit has a circular shape and may be connected to the support rods on opposite sides of the center thereof.

In an embodiment, the squeegee holder is connected at the upper end thereof to the lower ends of the support rods and has a trapezoidal shape.

In an embodiment, the squeegee blade has a plate shape suitable for controlling the inclination angle thereof according to the rotation and leftward and rightward movement of the rotary unit.

The squeegee module according to the present invention can continue the rolling of the solder paste and can maintain the constant properties of the solder paste after finishing one stroke printing, and can minimize the stroke used when rolling the solder paste.

Further, the squeegee module according to the present invention can prevent the drooping of the solder paste while the squeegee module is moving and can minimize the surface area of the solder paste that is exposed to the atmosphere, thus reducing the ill effect of atmospheric air and preventing the formation of voids in the solder paste.

Further, the squeegee module according to the present invention can execute the printing process while at the same time controlling the inclination angle of a squeegee blade in relation to a reduction in the amount of solder paste, thus continuously rolling of solder paste and thereby improving the quality of printing the solder paste.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a squeegee module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating operation of the squeegee module according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which the squeegee module executes a printing preparation process;

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating operation of the squeegee module according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which the squeegee module is moved leftwards;

FIG. 4 through FIG. 7 are views illustrating operation of the squeegee module according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which desired rolling of a solder paste can be made constant by controlling the amount of solder paste used during leftward and rightward movement of the squeegee module; and

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a change in the position of the squeegee module according to the embodiment of the present invention, which can be modified in response to a variation in the amount of the solder paste.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Various objects, advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The terms and words used in the present specification and claims should not be interpreted as being limited to typical meanings or dictionary definitions, but should be interpreted as having meanings and concepts relevant to the technical scope of the present invention based on the rule according to which an inventor can appropriately define the concept of the terms to describe most appropriately the best method he or she knows for carrying out the invention.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Herein, the same reference numerals are used throughout the different drawings to designate the same components. Further, when it is determined that the detailed description of the known art related to the present invention might obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Hereinafter, a squeegee module according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a squeegee module according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view illustrating operation of the squeegee module according to the embodiment of the present invention, that is, the squeegee module executing a printing preparation process. FIG. 3 is a view illustrating operation of the squeegee module being moved leftwards according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 through FIG. 7 illustrate a process of maintaining desired rolling of the solder paste by controlling the amount of the solder paste according to leftward and rightward movement of the squeegee module 100. FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a change in the position of the squeegee module according to the embodiment of the present invention, which can be changed according to variations in the amount of the solder paste.

As shown in FIG. 1, the squeegee module 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a rotary unit 110, a support rod 120, a squeegee holder 130 and a squeegee blade 140.

The rotary unit 110 is a part, which is rotated in opposite directions during operation of the squeegee module 100 and generally has a circular shape. The rotary unit 110 is supported by the support rod 120 and can be rotated in opposite directions during movement of the squeegee module.

Here, the support rod 120 is mounted to the rotary unit 110 and supports the rotary unit 110 such that the rotary unit 110 can be easily rotated. The vertical height of the support rod 120 can be changed.

The support rod 120 is a rod-shaped element which is mounted to the rotary unit 110. In the present invention, it is preferred that two support rods 120 be mounted to the rotary unit 110 on opposite sides of the center of the rotary unit 110 such that the support rods 120 are spaced apart from the center of the rotary unit 110 at regular intervals.

When the squeegee module 100 is moved and the rotary unit 110 is rotated in opposite directions, the two support rods 120, which are mounted to the rotary unit 110 on opposite sides of the center and have the changeable vertical heights, sequentially move upwards and downwards, thus supporting the rotation of the rotary unit 110.

The squeegee holder 130 supports the lower ends of the support rods 120. That is, the lower ends of the support rods 120 are connected to the upper surface of the squeegee holder 130, so that the vertical movement of the support rods 120 can be supported by the squeegee holder 130.

Although the shape of the squeegee holder 130 is not restricted, it is preferred that the squeegee holder 130 have a trapezoidal shape such that the squeegee holder 130 has inclined surfaces. Due to such a trapezoidal shape, the support rods 120 can be easily moved in vertical directions and the bonding amount of the solder paste 150 placed below the squeegee holder 130 can be easily controlled while the squeegee module moves leftward and rightward.

The squeegee blade 140 supports the lower end of the squeegee holder 130 and controls the bonding amount of the solder paste 150, which is placed below the squeegee holder 130, during movement of the squeegee module 100.

In the present invention, it is preferred that the squeegee blade 140 has a plate shape such that the squeegee blade 140 can easily achieve an inclined position while the squeegee module is moving.

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating operation of the squeegee module 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which the squeegee module is in the printing preparation process. As shown in FIG. 2, solder paste 150 is placed below the squeegee blade 140.

The squeegee blade 140 can move to the left and right in an inclined state, in which one end of the squeegee blade 140 is inclined upwards depending on the shape of the solder paste 150, thus maintaining the desired rolled shape of the solder paste 150.

The squeegee blade 140 has a plate shape and can realize an inclined position, in which one end of the squeegee blade 140 is inclined upwards, according to both the rotation of the rotary unit 110 and the vertical movement of the support rods 120, thus making both the inclination angle and the printing direction easy to change.

FIG. 3 illustrates leftward movement of the squeegee module 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention so as to control the amount of the solder paste 150 placed below the squeegee blade 140.

When the squeegee module 100 has moved to the left one stroke, the left end of the squeegee blade 140 is inclinedly moved upwards and controls the amount of the solder paste 150.

FIG. 4 through FIG. 7 illustrate the maintaining of the rolling of the solder paste 150, which can be realized by controlling the amount of the solder paste 100 according to leftward and rightward movement of the squeegee module 100.

In the above state, the squeegee blade 140 can be easily controlled in the inclination angle and the inclined direction thereof, so that the amount of solder paste 150 placed below the squeegee blade 140 can be easily controlled. Further, due to the easy control of the inclination angle and direction of inclination of the squeegee blade 140, the solder paste 150 can be prevented from drooping and can maintain desired properties.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 illustrate a change in the shape and spreadability of the solder paste 150 according to a variation in the inclination angle of the squeegee blade 140. In the above state, the vertical heights of the two support rods 120 supporting the squeegee blade 140 are different from each other.

FIG. 6 illustrates a state in which, when the squeegee blade 140 is horizontally placed, the solder paste 150 forms a ball shape. In the above state, the vertical heights of the two support rods 120 supporting the squeegee blade 140 are equal to each other.

FIG. 7 illustrates a state in which, when the squeegee blade 140 is inclined upwards in the rightward direction, the solder paste 150 leans to one side.

As described above, the present invention can easily realize bidirectional printing by repeating the process of FIG. 2 through FIG. 7 using one squeegee module 100.

Further, during a printing standby mode, the squeegee module 100 executes horizontal movement and continuously rolls the solder paste 150.

Further, the inclination angle of the squeegee blade 140 can be controlled according to variations in the amount of solder paste 150, thus continuously maintaining the desired rolling of the solder paste.

FIG. 8 illustrates operation of the squeegee module of the present invention, which is changed according to variations in the amount of solder paste 150. As shown in FIG. 8, the inclination angle of the squeegee blade 140 can be changed so as to control the amount of solder paste 150. The inclination angle of the squeegee blade 140 determines the shape and the surface area of solder paste 150.

As described above, the above-mentioned squeegee module 100 of the present invention can continuously roll the solder paste 150 after one printing process has finished. Thus, the squeegee module 100 can continuously maintain the desired properties of the solder paste 150 and can minimize the stroke of the squeegee module 100 that rolls the solder paste 150.

Further, the present invention can prevent the solder paste 150 from drooping during movement of the squeegee module 100 and minimizes the surface area of the solder paste 150 that is exposed to the atmosphere, thus reducing the negative effects of atmospheric air and preventing the formation of voids in the solder paste 150.

Further, the squeegee module 100 of the present invention continuously conducts the printing process while controlling the inclination angle of the squeegee blade 140 according to the reduction in the amount of the solder paste 150, thus maintaining the rolling of the solder paste 150 and thereby improving the quality of printing the solder paste 150.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Accordingly, such modifications, additions and substitutions should also be understood as falling within the scope of the present invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A squeegee module, comprising: a rotary unit rotated in opposite directions; support rods mounted to the rotary unit on opposite sides of a center of the rotary unit; a squeegee holder connected to ends of the support rods; and a squeegee blade mounted to the squeegee holder, wherein the squeegee holder moves upwards and downwards in cooperation with rotation of the rotary unit, thus controlling an inclination angle of the squeegee blade.
 2. The squeegee module as set forth in claim 1, wherein the rotary unit has a circular shape and is connected to the support rods which are on opposite sides of the center thereof.
 3. The squeegee module as set forth in claim 1, wherein the squeegee holder is connected at an upper end thereof to lower ends of the support rods and has a trapezoidal shape.
 4. The squeegee module as set forth in claim 1, wherein the squeegee blade has a plate shape suitable for the inclination angle thereof to be controlled according to the rotation of the rotary unit and leftward and rightward movement of the rotary unit. 